COLUMN: We can’t afford to shortchange education in NC

By Nick Arrington

Published: Thursday, August 15, 2013 at 04:58 PM.

Teachers give our children the fundamental building blocks necessary for a productive and successful life, but you are opening the door for them to leave and smiling on their way out. To not only retain, but to acquire exceptional talent, the great state of North Carolina will have to become more competitive in compensation. Whether you like it or not, North Carolina is in direct competition with neighboring states. They are attracting the highest quality teachers and administrators by enticing them with job security, increase in pay, more inclusive benefits packages and the tools necessary to ensure that they are doing their jobs to the highest standards. We are battling those states for talent and we are losing that fight. I for one will not bow out of this fight. I do not plan on sitting idly by.

I will not accept this fate for a state that I love so much. We have the opportunity to change the tides in this battle for resources. I will not let North Carolina go out with a whimper. We can make a difference and the time is now. We are a proud state.

I reside in a proud city, Charlotte, which is known for its tenacity and resilience. Right now the powers that be are poking the Hornet’s Nest with a stick and agitating the fierce inhabitants. The buzz is growing, increasing with each and every poke and prod. With every poor decision another hornet joins the swarm, the buzz mounting to a fever pitch.

When the buzz crescendos, what side will you be on?

Arrington is a resident of Charlotte. His wife is a teacher at Mount Holly Middle School.

As the spouse of a North Carolina public school teacher, our lives have been impacted directly by the decisions that the state government has made, not only in the past few weeks but over the span of the last five years.

Pay has been frozen and inflation has been on the rise. Teachers have been forced to incur additional insurance costs, budgets are slashed and the inventory of the supply closet has dwindled. Teachers have stepped up and spent more of their own money in order to be assured that they have the necessary resources at their disposal to do their job effectively. It’s just another burden to bear as a public servant, a sacrifice they make for a profession they love.

Having worked my entire career in the financial sector, I know about investments and how to properly allocate funds when proposing a budget. Setting aside money for public education when creating the budget for North Carolina, to me, is in similar fashion to rolling money into your 401(k). It’s an investment that takes years of hard work and continual contributions in order to one day reap the rewards.

The results and gratification are not instantaneous, but the negative effect that cuts in education budgeting are felt almost immediately, are long lasting, and will affect the lives of many for years to come. I fully understand the need to cut costs and decrease spending to balance the state’s budget, but at what cost? By creating a negative atmosphere for teachers to work? Driving away talent? Hindering this nation’s future leaders’ education and development? Wasting away the potential that these children have by not creating a positive learning environment where the employers aren’t disgruntled?

The end, in this particular instance, does not justify the means. We must never view education as just another line item on an expense form. We can’t afford to let it fall on the short list of expense cuts. These types of actions will only make North Carolina fall further behind and impede this great state’s growth.

The job market in the public sector of education has became, and continues to become, increasingly more fluid, more dynamic over the years. It’s much easier for people to dig up roots and transplant their lives and families to different cities and states, all in pursuit of career opportunities; due to budget constraints and frozen pay this has become more pronounced in North Carolina and within the teaching profession.

It’s no secret that top talent in any profession gravitates to where the money is and by cutting the budget, freezing pay and scaling back on promised benefits you are inviting teachers to pursue other opportunities in the private sector and teaching professions outside of the state. Teachers we need, teachers that have influenced children to dream big and work harder.

Teachers give our children the fundamental building blocks necessary for a productive and successful life, but you are opening the door for them to leave and smiling on their way out. To not only retain, but to acquire exceptional talent, the great state of North Carolina will have to become more competitive in compensation. Whether you like it or not, North Carolina is in direct competition with neighboring states. They are attracting the highest quality teachers and administrators by enticing them with job security, increase in pay, more inclusive benefits packages and the tools necessary to ensure that they are doing their jobs to the highest standards. We are battling those states for talent and we are losing that fight. I for one will not bow out of this fight. I do not plan on sitting idly by.

I will not accept this fate for a state that I love so much. We have the opportunity to change the tides in this battle for resources. I will not let North Carolina go out with a whimper. We can make a difference and the time is now. We are a proud state.

I reside in a proud city, Charlotte, which is known for its tenacity and resilience. Right now the powers that be are poking the Hornet’s Nest with a stick and agitating the fierce inhabitants. The buzz is growing, increasing with each and every poke and prod. With every poor decision another hornet joins the swarm, the buzz mounting to a fever pitch.

When the buzz crescendos, what side will you be on?

Arrington is a resident of Charlotte. His wife is a teacher at Mount Holly Middle School.